There was a time not long ago, when video games consoles were just that, tools to play video games on. Ever since the PlayStation 2 doubled as a handy DVD player however, companies have been falling over themselves to increase the ‘multi-media’ potential of their systems. PS3 and Xbox 360 now play host to several video and music streaming services, with the content improving almost monthly.

The latest addition to this catalog of entertainment is Xbox Music, which is due to replace the Zune service later this month. Originally outed at E3 this year, it will offer both a paid subscription service and also a free version (well, free as in included in Xbox Live Gold of course) that is supported by ads in a similar way to Sony’s Vidzone.

Multiple sources have told The Verge that the service will be launched on October 26th, at least in North America, and that it will also be available via cloud save on a number of devices including Windows 8 phones, iOS and Android. The release of this service will also apparently bring along with it a new dashboard update, downloadable on the same day.